Number 7

"Behind us. Two men. Both of them are armed. One is experienced in combat. The other... I can't tell."

Kristina whispered these words into the ear of Albert, who didn't dare to turn his head as she fed him this information.

"It's strange... very strange. I can usually tell whether someone is experienced right away... they give off a certain... aura. But for some reason, this guy... it's like I'm receiving mixed signals."

Slowly, the woman stood up, keeping her back facing in its direction as she walked along the ramp, leaning on it while pretending to be preoccupied with the scenery below.

"Well... I guess I'll just have to find out for myself. I'll take the strange one. Can you take the experienced one?"

"No... but I guess I don't have much choice."

Whispering these words, Albert accepted the situation as is.

This woman was not someone he had the power to negotiate with.

And then, with a smile, the woman's grin deepened as excitement filled her expression.

Her red hair seemed to spike with energy, and suddenly, she stood on top of the ramp as if she were walking on a balance beam.

"Hey! Be careful!! If you do something like that-"

"I'll fall?"

Looking at the man with a smile, the woman turned so that her back faced the ground below.

"That's my goal."

And with these words, she fell backwards as she descended to the ground.

'Eh?'

Too shocked to even understand what he had just witnessed, Albert couldn't even bring himself to look over the ramp down below.

'Did she just kill herself?'

Terror seeped into his very body, and quickly the intruders that the woman spoke of entered his mind.

'Were they truly such terrifying people... that this was her only option?'

At that instant, the man turned around - and it was then that he looked up to see them.

On another ramp, one higher than the one he was situated on, there were two men - both of whom were standing atop the ramp without concern for their lives.

"Marcus. There were many people in my life that died as a result of the horrible people I protected. In that sense... do you think it could be said that I owe a debt to this world?"

One of those two men was a man who wore the outfit of a police officer, gun in hand and a deadly expression on his face.

His head was shaved with a buzzcut, one which showed his genuine sincerity despite his dull expression devoid of any true sense of duty.

"I would have to say that is the case."

Standing next to him as he replied was a businessman - one who wore a suit and tie and carried himself with an air of dignity.

This man spread out his hand, which suddenly erupted into a tentacle that grabbed hold of the police officer at his side.

Then, shooting out his other hand, another tentacle formed as it grabbed hold of the ramp below as the man slowly lowered the two.

"Then I suppose with every criminal I defeat in this new world... I would be one step closer to repaying the debt that I have towards humanity."

As the two landed in front of Albert, however, the businessman nodded his head at the words of the policeman.

"No... that's wrong."

The tentacles retracted, and the man once more gained the form of a human - however his monstrous appearance shook the very being of Albert to the core.

He lost all will to fight, and suddenly he realized just why the woman had decided to jump headfirst from such a height.

'She... must have known what was coming.'

However right now, Albert was frozen stiff.

Unable to move, his cowardice had completely overcome him - and he was unable to even hold his weapon which he dropped to the ground.

"The debt you hold is not towards humanity... but rather... towards the ones who suffered because of your failures."

Suddenly, the businessman broke out into a sprint, and at that moment Albert understood - his life was over.

"And is that girl not the very epitome of such a failure to destroy the things that you wished to rid this world of?"

And with these words, the man jumped off the ramp, a smile on his face as he disappeared from the vision of the two.

Albert merely stood speechless, not even turning back to see what had become of the monstrous man, yet now he faced the policeman who stood with eyes widened in shock.

"Ah... I suppose he's right."

As if coming to a realization, the man looked down in thought, ignoring Albert as he nodded to himself.

"That girl... if I had been able to properly oppose the ones who destroyed her... would never have become the person she is today."

With these words, the man held up his pistol, pointing it at Albert.

"Then... I suppose the debt I have to the people of this world can be transferred to her."

With this, the man shot.

Bang!

However with a dodging roll, Albert hid behind a concrete barrier, just barely escaping the path of the bullets.

"Why are you working for these men?", the policeman questioned as he continued to fire shots, ensuring that Albert wouldn't peek out from his hiding spot. "Is it because they've forced you to? Or is it because you're one of them?"

"You fired on me before even confirming that!?", Albert shouted.

"I suppose you're right. Sorry about that. Maybe that man is influencing me a bit too much."

Pulling back his pistol, the man began to reload his weapon as he kept his eyes upon the hiding place that Albert was in.

"I... I'm nothing more than a coward. I'm weak. I'm too scared to go against that man, or his subordinates. Why are you here? Who are you!? What is your goal!? Who are you working for!?"

"Sigh... do I really have to explain all that?"

Throwing his gun to the side, the man held out his arms as he approached - now unarmed.

The weapon which Albert previously held was on the ground, far from where he could attempt to make a jump for it.

"I'm just a man who is trying to find out what it means to enforce justice."

At that instant, Albert jumped for it.

He rushed as quickly as he could, grabbing the rifle on the ground as he quickly aimed it at the man, who looked down upon him with dead eyes.

"Put your hands up, right now! I... I'll shoot, you know! I won't have any regrets killing someone strong like you who has no issue preying on the weak!"

"Am I the only one of us who is preying on the weak?"

The cop responded with these words as he slowly raised his arms, putting them in clear sight as Albert stood up, holding the weapon tightly as he aimed it towards the man.

"Are you trying to say that I'm preying on someone weak right now? Sorry, but that isn't going to cut it. You were trying to kill me first. I'm just returning the favor. Now tell me. Who are you working for? The police shouldn't exist anymore, so-"

"Isabella Stirling."

With this one word, the man stopped speaking.

"You..."

He was unable to even respond, unsure what to even say.

"You're working for her? But... no... that's impossible. We're working for her, right now. And... didn't her subordinates die? Isn't that the whole reason we're here?"

"Did you think that anything a gangster told you would be true?"

At that instant, the man began to fire.

The bullets flew as the magazine was emptied, however the quick reflexes of the policeman were enough to evade the first few after which the recoil completely redirected the path of the shots.

And in the next moment, Albert found himself faced with a man, baton in hand, whose eyes were filled with the desire to kill.

Slam!

And then, his side exploded in pain.

He dropped the weapon in an instant as he was beaten, the wind knocked out of him as he spit up a volley of blood and fell to the ground.

"UGH!"

"A coward? I don't want to hear an excuse such as that. I've worked in this industry for years now, so you won't fool me."

Then, another blow - this one to the stomach.

"AGH!"

The policeman was relentless in his pursuit, stomping on the man's foot as he looked down upon Albert without a shred of sympathy, as if he were looking at an insect.

"I know a predator when I see one."

----

Through his years of experience, if there was one thing that George had learned after dealing with people from every place in society, it was that he knew when someone was filth.

High status or low status, wealthy or poor, elegant or uneducated, these things had nothing to do with whether a person was scum.

He had seen it all. People of every group, race, gender, and occupation. No matter who a person was, they were not safe from corruption.

Perhaps it was nothing more than judgemental arrogance - however even if this were the case, George would not change his line of thinking.

'This man... is someone who likes to prey upon those who cannot resist him.'

George knew this for certain.

Despite how weak and pathetic he appeared, despite how powerless he seemed to be, a beast was lurking within this man.

"So you're going to enforce your strength on me as well?"

Suddenly, George felt his leg grabbed as the man's tone became rabid, filled with hatred.

"Just like the rest... just like every other person in this world... you're no different."

"Who are you really?"

George asked this question to the man, slamming him across the face with his baton.

The man was sent flying as he let out a groan of pain, blood dripping from his face as he spoke.

"Albert... Baracus. The 95th Senator of the Imperial State of Koravik. I... could barely even do well in my own profession. But in a fight? In combat? I was always so weak."

The man gargled blood as he spoke, thinning his eyes as tears flowed from them, looking to the sky with regret in his expression.

"Go ahead, cop. Kill me. Perhaps if you did that, you'd gain some sort of RECOGNITION."

And suddenly, the man's tone changed as he looked at George with acceptance.

"You're a wicked man, but your crimes... they are ones I do not know of."

Picking up his own pistol, George walked over slowly to Albert as he took aim at the man's head.

"I have no evidence, no information, nothing. Even in a legitimate trial, you would be deemed completely innocent of anything I could possibly accuse you. And rightfully so. For to deem a man guilty without evidence... is a true crime."

Pointing his gun at the head of the man, George looked down upon the man with a bored expression.

"But there is something from my years of experience that I've learned. A sentiment that I've obtained after witnessing criminal after criminal allowed to go free despite their obvious guilt."

Pulling back the safety, the man looked down upon Albert with a sigh.

"When compared with the crimes a man has already committed, it is a far worse crime to allow a guilty man to go free. For if I, as a representative of the law, cover up the crimes of a man - then any crimes he may commit in the future become MY OWN."

"What if I were to tell you that my crimes were not towards humans?"

In a final plea, Albert said these last words - however there was defeat in his tone.

This was no pathetic form of begging, but rather that he was questioning - trying to find out the true opinion of the one who was about to kill him.

"What do you mean by that? Don't tell me that you've been preying on some sort of monsters all your life."

With a chuckle, George was almost entertained by the thought.

"Animals. They aren't bound by human laws. If an animal kills a man, it is written off as a tragedy. Perhaps the animal is put down. But it is because an animal isn't bound by our laws that we deny them the rights we grant those who are bound by such laws."

"So you mean to tell me that your prey is not human, but animal?"

"Yes."

"To think that you would openly admit to such a thing... well, I don't care."

Holding up his weapon as he once more took aim at the head of the man, George continued to speak with disinterest.

"Whether your crimes are to man or beast, they remain crimes. The fact of the matter is that this world will be a better place without a person like you within it."

Pop!

While the weapon was silenced, the muffled sound of the bullet resounded in the ears of George as he watched the man's expression become riddled with blood - shock and horror filling it.

"If I couldn't ever make this world a better place through peaceful means as a figure of authority, then I will resort to other measures now that such authority no longer exists."

Walking off, the man left the scene with a bad taste in his mouth - yet he did not regret in the slightest what he had done.

Perhaps he should have regretted it. Perhaps he should have heard that man out. Perhaps he should never have killed him at all.

'But the fact of the matter is... he was working for my enemy. He was an ally of that mafia organization... perhaps a client who had been caught up in the calamity. But regardless of that, there are only two types of people associated with that group.'

'Victims and perpetrators.'

'And that man was no victim.'

----

Weakness - By Albert Baracus

From a young age, I was the weakest child in my school.

In Koravik, competition was everything. Everyone would one day obtain a rank, and that rank would determine their place in life.

Each professional would be listed and evaluated among their peers in the same occupation, and it would be made public as to what place each person held.

Like this, a ranking in society would not only be created - but enforced.

This person is above that person. This person is below that person. It was clear cut, set in stone.

There was no room for discussion.

Of course, rankings could change. They moved around each day, depending on the achievements of each person.

However in a school of 565, I was Student Rank 565.

I had started out somewhere in the middle. 230 or so. However with each passing day, my own incompetence and weakness became clear to all. Whether in athletics or academics, I was unable to hold a candle to those around me.

And so, it dropped.

My ranking dropped until I had hit rock bottom, where it stayed put.

At that point, I realized that something had to change. Perhaps I wasn't trying hard enough. Perhaps I wasn't working hard enough. I changed myself. I started working out. I started to study. I started to do everything I could to improve myself as a human being.

However, that improvement didn't last.

The bullies appeared.

Not just one or two. Dozens of them.

People who were just a few ranks above me, who were happy to finally see someone more pathetic than them.

People who were ranked far above me, who wanted to make an example out of the student who dared to have the lowest ranking in the entire school.

And anyone else who wanted to join in on the fun of beating someone who was already down.

The hazing began, and it never stopped.

However it wasn't until later in my life that I realized something - those people didn't bully me just because it made them feel good.

There was that too, of course. And I think that even if that was their only reason, they still would have done so. But I realized later that they were trying to protect their own position.

By robbing those below them of the will to fight against them, they maintained their own status. They created a status quo which couldn't be shaken so easily.

I had given up on everything. Bruised and beaten down, there wasn't a day where I didn't question whether my life had any purpose - and at some point I began hating myself.

But it wasn't myself that I hated. It was weakness that I began to hate - and I was the very embodiment of that.

However on one particular day, my hatred for weakness dissipated.

I was the son of a farmer, though quite a spoiled one at that. Most people in my position would have had to work the fields, but I was lucky enough to be sent to school - perhaps because my father didn't want me to end up in a low class profession like him.

I was tending to the sheep on that day, and as I was doing so, I came to a realization.

'I may be the weakest human... but that doesn't mean I'm the weakest, does it?'

On that day, I lost my own hatred for weakness - and that hatred soon turned to a hatred of strength.

I began to hate the strength that humans held - and I began to treasure the weakness of an innocent animal who could do nothing in the face of the beasts we call humans.

----